To straighten your teeth quickly and effectively your braces need to be in optimal condition. This is your responsibility but with these top tips, looking after your braces has never been easier.
- Brush your teeth regularly. This includes after every meal and snack. When you have braces, plaque can build up much quicker than usual and plaque causes cavities. Therefore, it's important to keep your teeth as clean as possible.
- Use mouthwash and disclosing tablets. The latter are particularly useful as they can help you to identify where you need to spend a bit of extra time brushing.
- Eat brace friendly foods. This includes nothing too hard or sticky. You can find out more about what you can and cannot eat on our healthy eating with braces page.
- Don't bite your nails. If you're a nail biter, this will have to stop when you are fitted with braces. Biting nails and other hard objects, such as the end of pencils, can cause damage to your braces.
- Come and see your orthodontist. We will schedule an consultation every six to eight weeks so we can check up on your progress. It is important you attend these consultations as any missed ones can set your treatment back.
